Madison County commissioners took no action July 26 on a proposed “nuisance abatement ordinance,” which is intended to give county authorities more power to force property owners to clean up sites deemed hazardous or unfit for human occupation.
Commissioner Lee Allen proposed the ordinance, which was drafted by county attorney Mike Pruett, saying that he has received complaints from constituents about properties that are not just eyesores, but that present fire or sanitation hazards for neighbors. Pruett said the proposed ordinance is in line with state regulations on such matters.
Commissioners heard Monday from Daniel Cook, a former Gwinnett County resident who said he loves the county but is impacted by nearby properties that have fallen into disrepair. He said he doesn’t know that he would move to Madison County again if he knew what would happen around him. He asked for help from the BOC in tackling such issues.
“We have eight houses on our road and three of them are in very bad shape,” said Cook. He said it’s often difficult to tell who is living in certain properties, since there’s traffic in and out. He noted a house across the street with seven vehicles in a small area — five vehicles that haven’t moved in a year.

Allen said he doesn’t want to be like Athens or Oconee County which have more stringent regulations, but he said he feels something is needed. He noted that some people forced from neighboring counties move to Madison County because they can get away with failing to maintain their properties. There are also property owners who receive repeated citations but just pay the fines rather than clean up their properties.
“Some just pay the citation and go about their business,” said Allen.
The ordinance would establish a process of putting a non-compliant property under a lien and having the county potentially seize that property — as it does at the end of the tax delinquency process — if the owner refuses to clean up properties.
Commissioner Tripp Strickland voiced a number of concerns about the proposed five-page ordinance. He said it is overly broad.
“I have a little bit of an issue with this because I feel it’s overreach,” said Strickland.
He said he didn’t feel agricultural buildings should fall under the ordinance. He also wondered if elderly people or low-income people not in compliance with the ordinance could be hurt by not being able to bring a “100-year-old house up to code.”
Pruett said the ordinance is “directed at extreme situations.” He said agricultural structures or old homes could be dealt with through the ordinance if county inspectors determine that it crosses into the threshold of an extreme case.
Strickland said property owners with gripes against each other could use the ordinance as a tool against each other. Pruett said if five citizens complain about a property, the county will conduct an inspection. If the public officer determines the property warrants action, then it would go before a judge.
The ordinance establishes criteria for demolition of structures deemed unfit for human habitation. Strickland asked what happens then.
“What if that structure is their home?” he asked. “Where do they go and whose expense is it to house them?”
Allen asked if removing people from dangerous structures is really hurting them.
“If they’re homeless, you’re hurting them,” said Strickland. “It’s their house. That’s all I’m saying.”
Strickland said he is uncomfortable giving inspectors such power over properties.
“This is a lot of power given to one person,” he said. “And anything that is salvaged from the demolishing is put up for sale without having to be advertised.”
At a recent meeting on the matter, a Garnett Ward Road resident talked about extremely unkempt properties across from him. Commissioner Theresa Strickland asked Strickland to consider Garnett Ward Road and living across from such a property for two decades.
Strickland said he doesn’t have a problem with dealing with unoccupied structures, but he said he doesn’t want to put additional hardships on poor or elderly people who don’t have the funds to bring properties up to code. He also said the county owns properties that would violate the ordinance.
“I got a mule barn at my house,” said Strickland. “Do I have to bring it up to code? The county owns multiple structures that should be torn down according to this, one being the 250-year-old Strickland House at the rec department. Or, the courthouse in the center of Danielsville. According to this we’d have to tear that down.”
The bottom floor of the old courthouse is used, but the upstairs is in disrepair.
Strickland said he prefers not to have the ordinance. He said that if one property is dealt with, then the county is going to open the door to deal with 100 more, which it can’t afford.
“I wouldn’t do it at all,” he said. “I think it goes too far, because it opens up the door for more and more. The more we add, the more it’s like Gwinnett County.”
Commissioner Jim Escoe said he feels ordinances aren’t enforced consistently and he feels that would be the case with this ordinance, too.
The commissioners tabled any action Monday, agreeing that the ordinance could be revised with more specificity.
BOC chairman John Scarborough said he feels it’s sensible for the county to try to address safety and health. But he said the details need work.
“It sounds to me we might not be where we need to be with some of the language,” said BOC chairman John Scarborough. “This was a draft, a starting spot.”
Also Monday, commissioners agreed to seek “requests for qualifications” (RFPs) from energy solutions companies that assess government energy use and help implement cost-saving measures. The county school system has done this for years. Madison County BOC chairman John Scarborough suggested that the county government consider implementing this as well. He noted that the companies that perform such services set a minimum savings for a customer over a certain timeframe. If those savings aren’t realized, the company eats that cost. If there are savings, the company shares in the savings. Meanwhile, an energy plan would establish a flat rate payment for energy services, which would simplify yearly budgeting. The board voted 5-0 to get information from energy companies on what they can offer.
In other matters, commissioners heard a quarterly report from Madison County Library director Jennifer Ivey, who told the BOC that there were 21,363 visitors to the library between April and June, down seven percent from the same period last year. One hundred and five library cards were issued in that timeframe, up from 98 during the same period last year. The library held 52 programs with 331 people in attendance during those three months. (See a calendar of library events on Page 8A).
The county commission ended Monday’s meeting with a closed session to discuss a property transaction. The group returned to open session and voted to give Scarborough the go ahead to negotiate a property acquisition with William Russell for half an acre on Office Drive next to the planned Georgia Renewable Power plant in Colbert. The site will be used for a three-million gallon water tank that GRP will deed to the county. The site is being purchased, because it will allow the tank to be placed at a higher elevation than previously planned.